Eyes Like Stars by Ashley Poston - ADVISABLE

Eyes Like Stars by Ashley Poston, 400 pages. Random House, 2026. $14.

Language: PG (6 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13 (alcohol use, illegal activity, mentions of smut, mild innuendo, kissing, and partial nudity); Violence: PG13 (assault, gun use, mentions of torture, and murder)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Ardent (18yo) only left the spaceship to buy the last volume of her book series. Returning to the ship should have been easy, but she somehow got into the middle of a blaster fight and had to run for her life with a stranger—a stranger that convinces her to let him stowaway on their cruise ship until the next stop. Hiding one boy shouldn’t be too hard among the passengers and crew, especially since the ship practically belongs to Ardent, whether she wants it or not.

Poston sets this Star Wars story between episodes six and seven, according to the timeline and characters Disney introduced to the universe (rather than the storylines Disney decanonized). While a couple familiar characters are discussed and make an appearance, Poston introduces a bunch of new characters to fall in love with. Seeing another side of the Star Wars universe where normal lives continue, have troubles, and resolve them without Jedi popping up to save the day every time is refreshing—but it still includes plenty of space travel, droids, and action. Even in this exciting galaxy far, far away, there are people wondering what they want to do and how to navigate difficult relationships, just like us earthling, human readers. Ardent is described as pale.

Reviewer: Carolina Johnson